Russia Begins Operations in Syria: End Game for the US Empire?

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Representatives for the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry (EMERCOM) said that all bomb shelters and underground shelters in Moscow meant for the evacuation of people in case of a nuclear attack or other emergencies, “were prepared and will be able to accommodate the entire population of the capital.”

Moscow Prepared for Possible Nuclear Attack: Statement of Russian Emergency Situations Ministry (EMERCOM)
http://www.globalresearch.ca/moscow-prepared-for-possible-nuclear-attack-statement-of-russian-emergency-situations-ministry-emercom/5549105

“As a result of the introduction of new approaches to civil defense, an inventory of underground facilities of the city was conducted. The Moscow underground facilities will be able to protect 100% of the population of the city,” deputy head of EMERCOM of Russia in Moscow, Andrei Mishchenko said.

He also added that the department takes urgent measures to enhance civil defense. The department updates the legal framework and modernizes control and alarm systems.

“We work to improve the public training system in the field of civil defense,” he said.

Noteworthy, the Ministry for Communications, the Finance Ministry, the Ministry for Industry, the Russian State Reserve and the Bank of Russia earlier took part in a sudden inspection of the Russian army. The above-mentioned departments worked in a “war-time” mode to test their systems for a possible war.

The Washington Free Beacon wrote citing US intelligence that Russia suddenly started building super bunkers. According to the publication, “dozens” of such bunkers are being built across the country.

Experts point out that their creation is associated with the introduction of a prospective integrated automated command and control system of the fifth generation into Russian missile forces.

To crown it all, according to services responsible for the organization of civil defense and emergency response, a special program was launched in Moscow in 2015 , within the scope of which bomb shelters and fallout shelters were built or renewed in every district of the Russian capital.

Two years ago, Russia conducted drills to repulse a nuclear attack on Moscow and strike a massive retaliatory blow. Reportedly, President Putin used the “nuclear suitcase” during the drills.

In 2015, both Russian and American generals said for the first time that a nuclear war between the United States and Russia was close like never before.

“Despite the fact that the majority of Russians, including Muscovites, do not know where bomb shelters are located in their neighborhoods, there is a list of addresses of bomb shelters. The shelters are now maintained accordingly to give people an opportunity to go through several days of a man-made emergency or a nuclear attack,” EMERCOM officials said.

Translated from Russian
Politonline
Read article in Russian

A suicide bombing during the wedding in northern Syrian town of Hasakah left at least 22 killed.

At Least 22 Killed, 33 Wounded in Suicide Bombing at Wedding in Syria's Hasakah
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20161003/1045965189/syria-suicide-bombing.html

A suicide bombing during the wedding in northern Syrian town of Hasakah left at least 22 killed and 33 wounded, town's mayor told Sputnik.

"The suicide bomber blew himself up in a wedding reception hall 400 meters (1312 feet) away from Hasakah," the mayor said stressing that the death toll is likely to rise. Nearby hospitals are providing first aid to the wounded.

Camera crews of Russian TV-channels Zvezda and NTV say they came under fire in the Syrian city Aleppo.

Camera Crews of Russian TV-Channels Come Under Fire in Syria
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20161003/1045964153/russia-camera-fired-aleppo-syria.html

Camera crews of Russian TV-channels Zvezda and NTV came under fire in the Syrian city Aleppo on Monday, a correspondent from the targeted crew said.

"We have been under fire. We are sitting behind the bus, hiding. The fire is aimed," Maksim Gritsenko, Zvezda TV channel correspondent said, as quoted by the channel’s website. The type of the used weapons is unknown. The journalists reportedly were not injured in the incident. The camera crews are said to have headed for the Handarat refugee camp in north-western Aleppo.

Moscow, SANA – Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said that Russia received no notification from the United States on terminating the Russian-US agreement on Syria.

Ryabkov: Russia received no notification of terminating Russian-US agreement on Syria
http://sana.sy/en/?p=89516

In an interview given to Sputnik news agency, Ryabkov said that the aforementioned agreement can be resumed, and that new touches can be added to it if necessary, but the real question is whether Washington is prepared for a diplomatic solution or not.

He said that if the US exits the agreement, it would be a big strategic mistake, noting that the United States has been employing a very narrow-minded policy regarding Syria, and if there’s a decision in Washington to exploit the Syrian issue for personal gains, then Russia will not play along.

Ryabkov stressed that Russia suggests that the Americans should cooperate with Russia and work with those who actually understand what is happening and are capable of delivering aid and fighting terrorist groups.

The number of illegal armed groups that declared their commitment to the ceasefire terms remains unchanged — 69

Reconciliation agreements signed with 8 more Syrian settlements — Russian Defense Ministry
http://tass.com/world/903631

Reconciliation agreements were signed over the last 24 hours with representatives of eight Syrian settlements, including five — in the province of Latakia, two — in the province of Homs, and one — in the province of Quneitra, the Russian Center for reconciliation of the warring parties said in its regular daily news bulletin posted on the Russian Defense Ministry’s official website on Sunday.

"The number of settlements that joined the reconciliation process has reached 702. Talks on joining the regime of cessation of hostilities were continued with field commanders of armed opposition groups in the settlement of Muaddamiet al-Shih in the province of Damascus and commanders of armed opposition groups in the provinces of Homs, Aleppo and Quneitra," the center said.

The number of illegal armed groups that declared their commitment to the ceasefire terms remains unchanged — 69, as follows from the bulletin.

Apart from that, according to the Russian center, efforts are continued to improve the humanitarian situation. Thus, a total of 2.68 tonnes of humanitarian cargoes — sugar, flour, rice, tea, canned meat and fish — were delivered to the Orthodox community in the city of Latakia.

Hot meals and living essentials distribution outlets are still open for civilians leaving Aleppo’s neighborhoods controlled by illegal armed groups, the center said.

The Russian Defense Ministry declared the establishment of the reconciliation center on February 23. It is headquartered at the Hmeymim air base, Latakia province. The center was set up in line with agreements reached by Russia and the United States to facilitate the negotiations between the Syrian government and opposition and to organize humanitarian deliveries.

The Emergencies Ministry of Russia is going to organize all-Russian civil defence drill since 4 October until 7 October 2016. More than 40 million people, more than 200.000 specialists of rescue and recovery units, as well as more than 50.000 units of equipment are going to be involved into the drill.

Emergencies Ministry to organize all-Russian civil defense drill
http://en.mchs.ru/mass_media/news/item/32914206/

Also, federal executive authorities, heads of regions, local governing bodies and organizations are going to participate in the drill. Personnel and equipment of the Emergencies Ministry are going to be fully engaged, as well as rescue and recovery units, paramilitary mine rescue divisions, units of the State Small Vessel Inspectorate, as well as State Fire Service of the Emergencies Ministry and aircraft.

Non-staff rescue and recovery units will also participate in the civil defence drill. The drill is purposed to check relevance of current plans for different periods and preparedness of all personnel and equipment for action.

Information and gathering of the senior personnel of ministries and agencies, executive authorities of the regions of the Russian Federation and local governments will be carried out.

Evacuation, issuing of personal protection equipment, deployment of sanitation station will be trained. Additionally, all protective equipment will be brought to readiness. Systems for emergency information of the population are going to be checked upon agreement with regional and municipal authorities.

Quality of medical services will be checked in medical institutions under jurisdiction of the Emergencies Ministry. Rescuers in cooperation with other service will train action to mitigate different emergency situations, as natural, as man-caused in order to improve efficiency of approaches used to protect the population and territories. Fulfillment of these tasks allows increasing level of preparedness of the population, senior management and civil defence forces for action during large scale emergency situations occurring in peace time.

A group of ex-U.S. intelligence officials is warning President Obama to defuse growing tensions with Russia over Syria by reining in the demonization of President Putin and asserting White House civilian control over the Pentagon.

Obama Warned to Defuse Tensions with Russia
https://consortiumnews.com/2016/10/02/obama-warned-to-defuse-tensions-with-russia/

ALERT MEMORANDUM FOR: The President

FROM: Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity

SUBJECT: PREVENTING STILL WORSE IN SYRIA

We write to alert you, as we did President George W. Bush, six weeks before the attack on Iraq, that the consequences of limiting your circle of advisers to a small, relatively inexperienced coterie with a dubious record for wisdom can prove disastrous.* Our concern this time regards Syria.

We are hoping that your President’s Daily Brief tomorrow will give appropriate attention to Saturday’s warning by Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova: “If the US launches a direct aggression against Damascus and the Syrian Army, it would cause a terrible, tectonic shift not only in the country, but in the entire region.”

Speaking on Russian TV, she warned of those whose “logic is ‘why do we need diplomacy’ … when there is power … and methods of resolving a problem by power. We already know this logic; there is nothing new about it. It usually ends with one thing – full-scale war.”

We are also hoping that this is not the first you have heard of this – no doubt officially approved – statement. If on Sundays you rely on the “mainstream” press, you may well have missed it. In the Washington Post, an abridged report of Zakharova’s remarks (nothing about “full-scale war”) was buried in the last paragraph of an 11-paragraph article titled “Hospital in Aleppo is hit again by bombs.” Sunday’s New York Times totally ignored the Foreign Ministry spokesperson’s statements.

In our view, it would be a huge mistake to allow your national security advisers to follow the example of the Post and Times in minimizing the importance of Zakharova’s remarks.

Events over the past several weeks have led Russian officials to distrust Secretary of State John Kerry. Indeed, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who parses his words carefully, has publicly expressed that distrust. Some Russian officials suspect that Kerry has been playing a double game; others believe that, however much he may strive for progress through diplomacy, he cannot deliver on his commitments because the Pentagon undercuts him every time. We believe that this lack of trust is a challenge that must be overcome and that, at this point, only you can accomplish this.

It should not be attributed to paranoia on the Russians’ part that they suspect the Sept. 17 U.S. and Australian air attacks on Syrian army troops that killed 62 and wounded 100 was no “mistake,” but rather a deliberate attempt to scuttle the partial cease-fire Kerry and Lavrov had agreed on – with your approval and that of President Putin – that took effect just five days earlier.

In public remarks bordering on the insubordinate, senior Pentagon officials showed unusually open skepticism regarding key aspects of the Kerry-Lavrov deal. We can assume that what Lavrov has told his boss in private is close to his uncharacteristically blunt words on Russian NTV on Sept. 26:

“My good friend John Kerry … is under fierce criticism from the US military machine. Despite the fact that, as always, [they] made assurances that the US Commander in Chief, President Barack Obama, supported him in his contacts with Russia (he confirmed that during his meeting with President Vladimir Putin), apparently the military does not really listen to the Commander in Chief.”

Lavrov’s words are not mere rhetoric. He also criticized JCS Chairman Joseph Dunford for telling Congress that he opposed sharing intelligence with Russia, “after the agreements concluded on direct orders of Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Barack Obama stipulated that they would share intelligence. … It is difficult to work with such partners. …”

Policy differences between the White House and the Pentagon are rarely as openly expressed as they are now over policy on Syria. We suggest you get hold of a new book to be released this week titled The General vs. the President: MacArthur and Truman at the Brink of Nuclear War by master historian H. W. Brands. It includes testimony, earlier redacted, that sheds light on why President Truman dismissed WWII hero Gen. Douglas MacArthur from command of U.N. forces in Korea in April 1951. One early reviewer notes that “Brands’s narrative makes us wonder about challenges of military versus civilian leadership we still face today.” You may find this new book more relevant at this point in time than the Team of Rivals.

The door to further negotiations remains ajar. In recent days, officials of the Russian foreign and defense ministries, as well as President Putin’s spokesman, have carefully avoided shutting that door, and we find it a good sign that Secretary Kerry has been on the phone with Foreign Minister Lavrov. And the Russians have also emphasized Moscow’s continued willingness to honor previous agreements on Syria.

In the Kremlin’s view, Russia has far more skin in the game than the U.S. does. Thousands of Russian dissident terrorists have found their way to Syria, where they obtain weapons, funding, and practical experience in waging violent insurgency. There is understandable worry on Moscow’s part over the threat they will pose when they come back home. In addition, President Putin can be assumed to be under the same kind of pressure you face from the military to order it to try to clean out the mess in Syria “once and for all,” regardless how dim the prospects for a military solution are for either side in Syria.

We are aware that many in Congress and the “mainstream” media are now calling on you to up the ante and respond – overtly or covertly or both – with more violence in Syria. Shades of the “Washington Playbook,” about which you spoke derisively in interviews with the Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg earlier this year. We take some encouragement in your acknowledgment to Goldberg that the “playbook” can be “a trap that can lead to bad decisions” – not to mention doing “stupid stuff.”

Goldberg wrote that you felt the Pentagon had “jammed” you on the troop surge for Afghanistan seven years ago and that the same thing almost happened three years ago on Syria, before President Putin persuaded Syria to surrender its chemical weapons for destruction. It seems that the kind of approach that worked then should be tried now, as well – particularly if you are starting to feel jammed once again.

Incidentally, it would be helpful toward that end if you had one of your staffers tell the “mainstream” media to tone down it puerile, nasty – and for the most part unjustified and certainly unhelpful – personal vilification of President Putin.

Renewing direct dialogue with President Putin might well offer the best chance to ensure an end, finally, to unwanted “jamming.” We believe John Kerry is correct in emphasizing how frightfully complicated the disarray in Syria is amid the various vying interests and factions. At the same time, he has already done much of the necessary spadework and has found Lavrov for the most part, a helpful partner.

Still, in view of lingering Russian – and not only Russian – skepticism regarding the strength of your support for your secretary of state, we believe that discussions at the highest level would be the best way to prevent hotheads on either side from risking the kind of armed confrontation that nobody should want.

Therefore, we strongly recommend that you invite President Putin to meet with you in a mutually convenient place, in order to try to sort things out and prevent still worse for the people of Syria.

In the wake of the carnage of World War II, Winston Churchill made an observation that is equally applicable to our 21st Century: “To jaw, jaw, jaw, is better than to war, war, war.”

* In a Memorandum to President Bush criticizing Colin Powell’s address to the UN earlier on February 5, 2003, VIPS ended with these words: “After watching Secretary Powell today, we are convinced that you would be well served if you widened the discussion … beyond the circle of those advisers clearly bent on a war for which we see no compelling reason and from which we believe the unintended consequences are likely to be catastrophic.”

For the Steering Group, Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity

William Binney, former Technical Director, World Geopolitical & Military Analysis, NSA; co-founder, SIGINT Automation Research Center (ret.)
Fred Costello, Former Russian Linguist, USAF

Mike Gravel, former Adjutant, top secret control officer, Communications Intelligence Service; special agent of the Counter Intelligence Corps and former United States Senator

Matthew Hoh, former Capt., USMC, Iraq & Foreign Service Officer, Afghanistan (associate VIPS)

Larry C. Johnson, CIA & State Department (ret.)

John Kiriakou, former CIA counterterrorism officer and former senior investigator, Senate Foreign Relations Committee

Linda Lewis, WMD preparedness policy analyst, USDA (ret.) (associate VIPS)

Edward Loomis, NSA, Cryptologic Computer Scientist (ret.)

Ray McGovern, former US Army infantry/intelligence officer & CIA analyst (ret.)

Elizabeth Murray, Deputy National Intelligence Officer for Middle East, CIA (ret.)

Todd Pierce, MAJ, US Army Judge Advocate (ret.)

Coleen Rowley, Division Counsel & Special Agent, FBI (ret.)

Kirk Wiebe, former Senior Analyst, SIGINT Automation Research Center, NSA, (ret.)

Robert Wing, former Foreign Service Officer

Ann Wright, U.S. Army Reserve Colonel (ret) and former U.S. Diplomat

 

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Introduction by J. Arnoldski: On September 30th, 2016, the New York Times published an article entitled "Audio Reveals What John Kerry Told Syrians Behind Closed Doors" which presented a series of leaked recordings of discussions between John Kerry and Syrian opposition representatives on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session in New York. In these leaked audio samples, Kerry is heard expressing frustration with being outmaneuvered by Russian diplomacy and nervously attempting to explain the crisis of the US's game plan for Syria in light of recent developments. In the following commentary, Russian political analyst Ruslan Ostashko explores just why this leak has appeared now and how it bears on the domestic and geopolitical situation of the US...

US ADMITS BIG LOSS IN SYRIA: Leaked Kerry recordings expose fear of Russian victory
http://www.fort-russ.com/2016/10/us-admits-big-loss-in-syria-leaked.html

Anyone who follows geopolitics is periodically plagued by bouts of insatiable curiosity. One really wants to know just what is being said behind closed doors during negotiations deciding the fate of the world.

Retelling news from different sources is, of course, interesting, but not the point. And waiting for memoirs, which are filled with lies anyway, is long and boring. Sometimes we have the delight of published WikiLeaks that give us the opportunity to spy on American diplomatic mail and the results of the private conversations of American diplomats and their pocket politicians, but this is also not quite what is needed.

Very, very rare are those leaks that allow one to really see through the diplomatic smokescreen. The New York Times’ leak of conversations between Kerry and representatives of the so-called Syrian opposition is one of these rare finds.

Our media have picked up only a few elements in this leak which, undoubtedly, are pleasant for us, but these are not even the most important.

Yes, during his talk with his Syrian puppets, Kerry complained of “cunning” Russian diplomats, which very much pleased the Russian foreign ministry.

Yes, Kerry acknowledged the possibility of Assad participating in presidential elections in Syria despite the State Department’s official position that Assad must leave and never return to Syrian politics.

This is all very good, very nice, and really is an extra reason to point a finger at the absurdity of the official American position and make fun of American propaganda. But the most important part of this leak is something else.

Let’s ask ourselves two questions: Who did this leak? Why did a top American newspaper, and not RT, first publish this incriminating recording?

Here begins to spin the quite interesting story which I have mentioned many times. We are witnessing a very intense conflict between the CIA and Pentagon or, if you wish, between the moderate and radical parts of the American elite. This conflict sometimes manifests itself in an intricate way. In this specific situation, it turns out that the leak’s orchestrators aimed at Kerry, but ended up hitting the whole USA.

The most likely scenario behind the appearance of the recorded conversations is such: representatives of the Syrian opposition are very frustrated that the US never started bombing Damascus, so they decided to record talks with Kerry during which he explained that everything is bad, that the Russians have tricked him, and thus offered dozens of reasons why the “US Secretary of State has ditched the Syrian opposition and caved in to the Russians.”

The New York Times as a newspaper is the official mouthpiece of the Clintonoids and all the American hawks. That it happily published this leak hints that such a position of the American diplomatic leadership is a disgrace for the US and that things were never and never could have been so bad under Clinton. As a result of this special operation, Kerry’s reputation has been dealt a serious blow and the American hawks have scored extra points in the fight for influencing the minds of American citizens and the undecided part of the American elite.

All of this would be good, but the entire world is watching this showdown and drawing different conclusions. Here are the conclusions that beg themselves:

1. Now the US really wants to, but effectively cannot influence the situation in Syria. No one believes in Obama’s peaceful intentions, and this means that there can only be one explanation: the Americans are afraid to engage in a real military conflict with Russia. For the Americans, this is a minus, just as it is a plus for our reputation.

2. The American elite have reached such a point in their internal confrontation that they no longer hesitate to sacrifice the interests of the country in order to spite their competitors in internal political struggles.

This is a very important milestone. From the point of view of old civilizations, such as the Chinese, this is a clear sign that the American Empire is nearing its end and should be treated accordingly.

Now the Americans are trying to arrange another media and diplomatic show around the offensive of Syrian troops and the bombing of Aleppo. They are trying to put maximum media and diplomatic pressure on Russia. But since Kerry’s leaked confessions, no one will take this seriously.

The Americans have run out of tools for directly influencing the situation in Syria, and their opinion should be ignored. By spreading media and diplomatic noise, they are trying to hide the fact that they have already reconciled with the fact that Assad is going to continue to lead Syria and that the Russian army is going to continue to use Syrian bases. All that is left is to squeeze them to recognize this not only on the sidelines of the UN, but officially.

I think that our air force can handle this task.

Secretary of State John Kerry was clearly exasperated, not least at his own government. Over and over again, he complained to a small group of Syrian civilians that his diplomacy had not been backed by a serious threat of military force, according to an audio recording of the meeting obtained by The New York Times.

Audio Reveals What John Kerry Told Syrians Behind Closed Doors SEPT. 30, 2016
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/09/30/world/middleeast/john-kerry-syria-audio.html

0:34 “I think you’re looking at three people, four people in the administration who have all argued for use of force, and I lost the argument.”

The 40-minute discussion, on the sidelines of last week’s United Nations General Assembly in New York, provides a glimpse of Mr. Kerry’s frustration with his inability to end the Syrian crisis. He veered between voicing sympathy for the Syrians’ frustration with United States policy and trying to justify it.

The conversation took place days after a brief cease-fire he had spearheaded crumbled, and as his Russian counterpart rejected outright his new proposal to stop the bombing of Aleppo. Those setbacks were followed by days of crippling Russian and Syrian airstrikes in Aleppo that the World Health Organization said Wednesday had killed 338 people, including 100 children.

At the meeting last week, Mr. Kerry was trying to explain that the United States has no legal justification for attacking Mr. Assad’s government, whereas Russia was invited in by the government.

0:33 “The problem is the Russians don’t care about international law, and we do.”

Mr. Kerry has been hamstrung by Russia’s military operations in Syria and by his inability to persuade Washington to intervene more forcefully. He has also been unable to sell Syrian opponents of Mr. Assad, like the ones in that room, on a policy he does not wholeheartedly believe in.

His frustrations and dissent within the Obama administration have hardly been a secret, but in the recorded conversation, Mr. Kerry lamented being outmaneuvered by the Russians, expressed disagreement with some of Mr. Obama’s policy decisions and said Congress would never agree to use force.

0:19 “We’re trying to pursue the diplomacy, and I understand it’s frustrating. You have nobody more frustrated than we are.”

The meeting took place at the Dutch Mission to the United Nations on Sept. 22. There were perhaps 20 people around a table: representatives of four Syrian groups that provide education, rescue and medical services in rebel-held areas; diplomats from three or four countries; and Mr. Kerry’s chief of staff and special envoy for Syria. The recording was made by a non-Syrian attendee, and several other participants confirmed its authenticity.

John Kirby, a State Department spokesman, declined on Thursday evening to comment on what he described as a private conversation. He said that Mr. Kerry was “grateful for the chance to meet with this group of Syrians, to hear their concerns firsthand and to express our continued focus on ending this civil war.”

Several of the Syrian participants said afterward that they had left the meeting demoralized, convinced that no further help would come from the Obama administration. One, a civil engineer named Mustafa Alsyofi, said Mr. Kerry had effectively told the Syrian opposition, “You have to fight for us, but we will not fight for you.”

“How can this be accepted by anyone?” Mr. Alsyofi asked. “It’s unbelievable.”

In the meeting, he and the others pressed Mr. Kerry politely but relentlessly on what they saw as contradictions in American policy. Their comments crystallized the widespread sense of betrayal even among the Syrians most attractive to Washington as potential partners, civilians pushing for pluralistic democracy.

One woman, Marcell Shehwaro, demanded “the bottom line,” asking “how many Syrians” had to be killed to prompt serious action.

0:18 “What is the end of it? What he can do that would be the end of it?”

Mr. Kerry responded that “Assad’s indifference to anything” could push the administration to consider new options, adding, “There’s a different conversation taking place” since the intensified bombing of Aleppo and the further breakdown of talks with Russia.

But he also said any further American effort to arm rebels or join the fight could backfire.

0:39 “The problem is that, you know, you get, quote, enforcers in there and then everybody ups the ante, right? Russia puts in more, Iran puts in more; Hezbollah is there more and Nusra is more; and Saudi Arabia and Turkey put all their surrogate money in, and you all are destroyed.”

At another point, Mr. Kerry spelled out in stark terms distinctions the United States was making between combatants, which have upset the Syrian opposition: The United States wants the rebels to help it fight the Islamic State and Al Qaeda because, as he put it, “both have basically declared war on us.” But Washington will not join the same rebels in fighting Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shiite militia allied with Mr. Assad, even though the United States lists Hezbollah as a terrorist group like the others.

“Hezbollah,” Mr. Kerry explained, “is not plotting against us.”

He also spoke of the obstacles he faces back home: a Congress unwilling to authorize the use of force and a public tired of war.

0:17 “A lot of Americans don’t believe that we should be fighting and sending young Americans over to die in another country.”

One of the Syrians in the room assured Mr. Kerry, “No one is requesting an invasion,” but he insisted that the rebels needed more help.

As time ran short, Mr. Kerry told the Syrians that their best hope was a political solution to bring the opposition into a transitional government. Then, he said, “you can have an election and let the people of Syria decide: Who do they want?”

A State Department official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said later that Mr. Kerry was not indicating a shift in the administration’s view of Mr. Assad, only reiterating a longstanding belief that he would be ousted in any fair election.

At one point, Mr. Kerry astonished the Syrians at the table when he suggested that they should participate in elections that include President Bashar al-Assad, five years after President Obama demanded that he step down.

Mr. Kerry described the election saying it would be set up by Western and regional powers, and the United Nations, “under the strictest standards.” He said that the millions of Syrians who have fled since the war began in 2011 would be able to participate.

0:19 “Everybody who’s registered as a refugee anywhere in the world can vote. Are they going to vote for Assad? Assad’s scared of this happening.”

But the Syrians were skeptical that people living under government rule inside Syria would feel safe casting ballots against Mr. Assad, even with international observers — or that Russia would agree to elections if it could not ensure the outcome. And that is when the conversation reached an impasse, with Ms. Shehwaro, an educator and social media activist, recalling hopes for a more direct American role.

“So you think the only solution is for somebody to come in and get rid of Assad?” Mr. Kerry asked.

“Yes,” Ms. Shehwaro said.

“Who’s that going to be?” he asked. “Who’s going to do that?”

0:16 “Three years ago, I would say: You. But right now, I don’t know.”

 

[sToRmR1dR]

Representatives for the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry (EMERCOM) said that all bomb shelters and underground shelters in Moscow meant for the evacuation of people in case of a nuclear attack or other emergencies, “were prepared and will be able to accommodate the entire population of the capital.”

Moscow Prepared for Possible Nuclear Attack: Statement of Russian Emergency Situations Ministry (EMERCOM)
http://www.globalresearch.ca/moscow-prepared-for-possible-nuclear-attack-statement-of-russian-emergency-situations-ministry-emercom/5549105

“As a result of the introduction of new approaches to civil defense, an inventory of underground facilities of the city was conducted. The Moscow underground facilities will be able to protect 100% of the population of the city,” deputy head of EMERCOM of Russia in Moscow, Andrei Mishchenko said.


Emergencies Ministry to organize all-Russian civil defense drill
http://en.mchs.ru/mass_media/news/item/32914206/

Also, federal executive authorities, heads of regions, local governing bodies and organizations are going to participate in the drill. Personnel and equipment of the Emergencies Ministry are going to be fully engaged, as well as rescue and recovery units, paramilitary mine rescue divisions, units of the State Small Vessel Inspectorate, as well as State Fire Service of the Emergencies Ministry and aircraft.

40 Million Russians practice evacuation drill

http://www.fort-russ.com/2016/10/40-million-russians-practice-evacution.html

October 3rd, 2016 - Fort Russ News -
Interfax - translated by Inessa Sinchougova

http://www.interfax.ru/russia/530823

On October 2nd, Oleg Manuilo, the spokesperson for Russia’s Ministry for Emergencies (MCHS) announced that a large scale “civil defense” drill will take part in the next few days.

Over 40 million personnel from Russia’s regional and municipal authorities, as well as emergency and evacuation services will be involved.

“The drill will take place from the 4th to the 7th October 2016. As a total, over 40,000 million people will be involved, with 200,000 specialists from various rescue services, and over 50,000 equipment units will be put to the test.” – Manuilo said.

All federal and local authorities will take part in the drill. The evacuation practice is intended to test the current emergency and evacuation management plans, for efficiency and speediness.

“We will test our communcations systems as well as the systemic medical and rescue services” – says Manuilo.

“Moreover, all civil defense units will be readied. In coordination with regional and municipal authorities, all emergency notification systems will be trialed.” These systems are only utilized in the event of a sudden threat.

As part of the drill, standard medical facilities and rescue services will be checked for their readiness and ability to offer assistance.

Iskander missile brigade on alert for drill in western Russia

http://tass.com/defense/903968?_ga=1.72048787.1081960895.1475302692

More than 500 servicemen will take part in the exercises involving 50 units of weaponry

The missile brigade of Russia’s Western Military District, equipped with Iskander-M tactical ballistic missile systems, has been put on the highest level of combat alert as part of this year’s military final exam for review by top brass, the press service of the district said on Tuesday.

"Now the brigade’s units march to the designated areas for carrying out training on directing missile strikes with simulated launches of missiles of the Iskander M tactical system," the statement said.

The crews will improve the skills of deploying the missile systems, loading the missiles from transporters and transporter-loaders onto the launchers. During the final stage of the exercises, the Iskander-M units will deliver a simulated preemptive strike against the missile systems and other remote critical targets of a simulated enemy.

More than 500 servicemen will take part in the exercises involving 50 units of weaponry and military equipment.

https://youtu.be/qTqTG6Na1xM

Russian Tu-22-M3 Long-Range Bombers to Strike Targets at Drills in Kyrgyzstan

https://sputniknews.com/military/20161004/1045971339/russia-tu-22m3-csto-drills.html

Three Russian Tu-22M3 long-range bombers will strike simulated enemy targets in Kyrgyzstan.

Russia's long-range Tu-22M3 bombers will engage simulated illegal armed groups at the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) drills in Kyrgyzstan, the Russian Central Military District said Tuesday.

"Three long-range Tu-22M3 bombers were transferred to operational airfields in western Siberia, from where they will perform combat training missions over Kyrgyzstan," an aide to the district’s commander Col. Yaroslav Roshchupkin said Tuesday.

The pilots conducted reconnaissance of the training area and worked out joint cooperation at a combined air control operations room at a range in the Kyrgyz town of Cholpon-Ata.

The maneuvers include over 1,000 troops from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia, 200 armored vehicles and 20 aircraft and helicopters. Their practical phase at the Edelweiss range are scheduled to wrap up on October 7.

The joint drills of the collective rapid deployment forces are part of the drills dubbed "Rubezh-2016" ("Boundary-2016") held in Central Asian countries.

The CSTO is an intergovernmental military alliance of former Soviet states, which comprises Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan.

US Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland to visit Moscow soon

http://www.interfax.ru/world/530990


Russian MP says Moscow may push antiterrorist war in Middle East to end

http://tass.com/politics/903958?_ga=1.110316421.1081960895.1475302692

A Russian lawmaker says after the US decision to suspend contacts on Syria, Russia can take the issue into own hands and push the antiterrorist war to an end

Russia may push the antiterrorist war in the Middle East through to an end after the latest informational provocations and official statements from the U.S., First Deputy Speaker of the State Duma, Ivan Melnikov told TASS on Monday.

"After the recent informational provocations and official statements from the U.S. we can untie our own hands and push the antiterrorist war in the Middle East through to an end," said Melnikov, who is one of the top decision-makers in the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF). He voiced the confidence this would meet the interests of Russia, Europe and the rationally thinking Americans in an equal measure.

"Otherwise this was spread much broader than today," he said.

Melnikov recalled that the military operation of the Russian Aerospace Force against the terrorist organization had been very efficacious.

"We suspended it and took up the peace process quite conscientiously, as we expected mutual understanding with the so-called allies in struggle with terrorism," he said.

"Yet time has shown the U.S. is playing a double game as regards Russia," Melnikov said. "To suit its interest, the U.S. supports directly or indirectly the forces that seed destruction, bloodshed and chaos. It wants to protect from destruction the big numbers of terrorists and keep them up."

All of this has become very apparent now, he said.

Earlier on Monday, the chief of the U.S. Department of State press service, John Kirby, said the U.S. was suspending the use of bilateral channels with Russia that had been established to help serve the ceasefire in Syria.

He also said the U.S. was revoking the personnel that was supposed to take up in the setting-up of a join executive center.

US Officials Believe Russia Deployed S-300 Advanced Anti-Missile System to Syria

https://sputniknews.com/military/20161004/1045972985/s-300-syria-russia.html

Moscow has for the first time deployed the S-300 (NATO reporting name SA-23 Gladiator) advanced anti-missile and anti-aircraft system to Syria, Fox News reported Tuesday, citing three unnamed US officials.

According to the Fox News broadcaster, the anti-missile system arrived at a naval base in Syria’s coastal city of Tartus over the weekend in the first foreign deployment of the S-300.

There has been no official confirmation of the move from Moscow so far.

The news come a day after the United States suspended its engagement with Russia on Syria ceasefire, citing Moscow’s and the Syrian government's alleged non-compliance with the peace accords.

The S-300 anti-missile and anti-aircraft system has a range of up to 150 miles.

Syrian Army reenters Jabal Thardeh after pushing ISIS away from Deir Ezzor Military Airport

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/syrian-army-reenters-jabal-thardeh-pushing-isis-away-deir-ezzor-military-airport/

The Syrian Arab Army's 71st Regiment, backed by the 123rd and 137th brigades, reentered the Jabal Thardeh region of southwest Deir Ezzor on Monday night after a three week long hiatus due to U.S. Coalition airstrikes.

Backed by Russian airstrikes, the Syrian Armed Forces managed to liberate Point 1 at the eastern perimeter of Jabal Thardeh after a fierce battle with the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS) on Monday.

In addition to reentering Jabal Thardeh, the Syrian Armed Forces received a major boost on Monday night, when the Russian Air Force killed several Islamic State terrorists inside the provincial capital.

Among the dead Islamic State terrorists was their infamous commander, Leith Al-Dali, a Free Syrian Army defector that led the Al-Nasser Regiment three years ago.

 

[lilies]

A large group of Su-25 Grach fighter-bombers is also prepared to be deployed in Syria, however, an order on sending it still has not been given. If necessary, the group will arrive Hmeymim within 2-3 days. The crews are reportedly waiting for the order from the high command. The report is likely a signal that Moscow is ready to increase its military operations in Syria amid the ongoing diplomatic confrontation with the United States over the issue.

The escalation is getting serious. I got the feeling that Russia is more than ready to receive US attacks mainly after a new president is elected and the Pentagon or 5th Column begins attempts to clear the chess board.

It looks like we'll get the same transition opportunities in case of a MAD or a mass cometary bombardment allowing this group to begin the New World Creation project on the other side of the Valley of Shadow.

 

[Konstantin]

The situation on the Middle East is getting worse and worse every moment


The Russian embassy in Damascus was shelled from the areas controlled by al-Nusra Front and Faylaq al-Rahman militants, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

_https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20161004/1045979555/nusra-shells-russian-embassy.html?utm_source=https%3A%2F%2Ft.co%2F9DLWXUt79G&utm_medium=short_url&utm_content=cufE&utm_campaign=URL_shortening

 

[angelburst29]

Representatives for the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry (EMERCOM) said that all bomb shelters and underground shelters in Moscow meant for the evacuation of people in case of a nuclear attack or other emergencies, we're prepared and will be able to accommodate the entire population of the capital.”

Moscow Prepared for Possible Nuclear Attack: Statement of Russian Emergency Situations Ministry (EMERCOM)
http://www.globalresearch.ca/moscow-prepared-for-possible-nuclear-attack-statement-of-russian-emergency-situations-ministry-emercom/5549105

As a result of the introduction of new approaches to civil defense, an inventory of underground facilities of the city was conducted. The Moscow underground facilities will be able to protect 100% of the population of the city,” deputy head of EMERCOM of Russia in Moscow, Andrei Mishchenko said.


Emergencies Ministry to organize all-Russian civil defense drill
http://en.mchs.ru/mass_media/news/item/32914206/

Also, federal executive authorities, heads of regions, local governing bodies and organizations are going to participate in the drill. Personnel and equipment of the Emergencies Ministry are going to be fully engaged, as well as rescue and recovery units, paramilitary mine rescue divisions, units of the State Small Vessel Inspectorate, as well as State Fire Service of the Emergencies Ministry and aircraft.

40 Million Russians practice evacuation drill

http://www.fort-russ.com/2016/10/40-million-russians-practice-evacution.html

October 3rd, 2016 - Fort Russ News -
Interfax - translated by Inessa Sinchougova

http://www.interfax.ru/russia/530823

On October 2nd, Oleg Manuilo, the spokesperson for Russia’s Ministry for Emergencies (MCHS) announced that a large scale “civil defense” drill will take part in the next few days.

Over 40 million personnel from Russia’s regional and municipal authorities, as well as emergency and evacuation services will be involved.

“The drill will take place from the 4th to the 7th October 2016. As a total, over 40,000 million people will be involved, with 200,000 specialists from various rescue services, and over 50,000 equipment units will be put to the test.” – Manuilo said.

All federal and local authorities will take part in the drill. The evacuation practice is intended to test the current emergency and evacuation management plans, for efficiency and speediness.

“We will test our communications systems as well as the systemic medical and rescue services” – says Manuilo.

“Moreover, all civil defense units will be readied. In coordination with regional and municipal authorities, all emergency notification systems will be trialed.” These systems are only utilized in the event of a sudden threat.

As part of the drill, standard medical facilities and rescue services will be checked for their readiness and ability to offer assistance.

This 4th to the 7th October 2016 Drill is a HUGE undertaking, no matter how you look at it!
To my knowledge, I've never read of "any" Civil Defense Drill prepared, organized and tested to this magnitude? It encompasses all regional and municipal authorities and services, not only for the governing body but includes the citizens/population, as well. The Drill is being conducted mainly in the Capital but extends beyond the perimeters, to other regional locations in Russia. Add, all Divisions of the Military and Arm Forces have been subject to "snap Inspections" and reorganization of personnel, in some cases, in the past year.

I can reason, the Political climate might have something to do in the planning of this Drill but they are also covering "all of their bases" to handle "any emergency", nuclear, weather or space related, whatever comes down the pike? What other Countries have taken on the initiative and foresight to even prepare their local communities and citizens for a weather related emergency? You have isolated Drills, within specific divisions in emergency management, that might involve the local community and part of the surrounding area. There might be a small announcement in the Community bulletin in the local newspaper.
In a declared emergency, a Church or Community Center generally acts as an emergency shelter and local charities will be contacted to provide humanitarian services like food and blankets but it's generally short time management, involving a few days - to a week, the most. What plans are in place for anything major? Where's the nearest underground or bomb shelter in your area? Other than for the Elite - we have - NONE! Unless you take steps to protect yourself and your family, at least with an extra supply of food and water, expect NO outside help and plan accordingly.

 

[angelburst29]

The United States has broken off talks with Russia on resolving the Syrian conflict, blaming Moscow for failing to fulfil its part of the ceasefire deal and for escalating violence in the war-torn Arab country, particularly Aleppo. Analyst Vladimir Fillipov suggested that the timing of Washington's decision is strange.

Washington Suspending Talks With Russia Over Syria Raises Questions
https://sputniknews.com/politics/20161004/1045988192/us-russia-syria-talks.html

"Experts say that there is an explanation. Moderate or not moderate rebels are not the issue," he wrote for RIA Novosti. "The question is who has been trapped in Aleppo. Experts say that there are approximately 200 Western instructors."

If true, this, the analyst added, could explain earlier comments made by White House press secretary Josh Earnest, who said on Monday that Washington's "patience with Russia has run out." Thanks to the offensive launched by the Syrian Arab Army and its allies in the country's second largest city "these 'instructors in the closet' could be presented to the world," he suggested.

The United States suspended "its participation in bilateral channels with Russia that were established to sustain the cessation of hostilities" on Monday, US State Department spokesman John Kirby said in a statement.

Both Kirby and Earnest accused Moscow of failing to fulfil its part of the deal negotiated by Russian Foreign Secretary Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry. The agreement was seen as a major step forward to a lasting peace in Syria, but it was derailed due to hundreds of ceasefire violations by US-backed rebels.

"What we have seen from the Russians in the year or so since their military intervention in Syria is that they have not made much progress against [Daesh]. They claim that the reason they are in Syria is to fight extremists, but they haven't achieved a significant [counter-Daesh] objective in more than seven months," the White House press secretary suggested.

Earnest further assumed that Russian officials "have been reduced to try and to claim credit for successful US operations" in Syria.

Referencing the killing of Daesh's top commander Abu Muhammad al-Adnani, he said that "Russia was in a position where they were rather pathetically trying to claim credit for having carried out that operation. I think that's an indication that they don't have much to claim credit for when it comes to fighting extremists and fighting [Daesh]."

Russian Ambassador to the UN Vitaly Churkin described Earnest's assertions as "indelicacy, to put it mildly." Russia has been hailed for its limited, but efficient military operation in Syria that has helped Damascus-led forces to turn the tide of the five-and-a-half-year war, recover key cities and boost the SAA's morale. Moscow has also been credited for its diplomatic efforts to launch an inclusive dialogue aimed at finding a suitable and lasting resolution to the conflict that has claimed more than 280,000 lives and displaced a half of Syria's population.

Gen. Ben Hodges, Commander of the United States Army Europe, said that a heavy armored brigade will be deployed to Poland in February and an air force battalion in spring 2017.

US General Reveals Details on NATO Troops Deployment in Poland
https://sputniknews.com/europe/20161004/1045974224/poland-nato-troops.html

In an interview with Radio Poland, the general outlined NATO plans to boost its presence in Eastern Europe as it was agreed during the summit in Warsaw.

First of all, the measures include an enhanced forward presence (EFP) as well as Washington’s commitment to provide an armored brigade combat team.

"This brigade will arrive from Fort Carson, Colorado to the port of Bremerhaven, Germany, in the middle of January. Then it will move quickly, as part of an exercise, into western Poland. By the middle of February, the whole brigade will be there, going through what we call RSOI – reception, staging, onward movement and integration. Once they’ve completed the process the brigade will begin a nine month rotation. Part of it will be in the Baltic countries, part of it will be in Romania and Bulgaria, but the bulk of it will remain in Poland," Gen. Hodges said.

According to him, the brigade will be stationed in Poland because the country is an ideal location to be able to "move north and move south."

He added that in late spring, probably March-April, an aviation battalion will be deployed at the Powidz airbase, in west-central Poland.

As for an EFP, the US will provide a Stryker squadron which will be based in Germany.

"This will be an excellent unit. They’ve already begun their training program to prepare for this mission," the general said. In addition, an EFP battalion will arrive in April and by the end of April it will be fully operational capable. The unit will be under a NATO operational control status, according to the commander.

In recent years, Warsaw, one of the closest US allies in Eastern Europe, has been a strong supporter of NATO’s enhanced military presence in Eastern Europe. After Crimea’s reunification with Russia and the beginning of the eastern Ukrainian conflict, a "Russian threat" has been one the key points in Warsaw’s rhetoric towards Moscow, aimed at justifying NATO’s expansion in the region. Citing the "Russian threat," the Polish Defense Ministry is set to spend billions on its own military modernization.

In particular, speaking at a conference in April, Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski claimed that Russia is an "existential threat" to Poland.

However, the Russian government and many analysts have repeatedly said this "threat" is imaginary and Moscow has no plans to invade Poland.

During the 2016 Warsaw Summit of NATO, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the alliance will strengthen its eastern flank in Poland and the Baltics with four additional battalions in 2017.

The Kremlin described the decision as a violation of the basic principle in NATO-Russia relations.

As many as 10,000 North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) soldiers will be deployed in Poland as part of the Alliance's expanded military presence on its eastern flank, Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski said Monday.

Polish FM Says Up to 10,000 NATO Soldiers to Be Deployed in Country
https://sputniknews.com/europe/20160718/1043227982/poland-nato-soldiers.html

Back-dated July 18, 2016 - A NATO summit was held on July 8-9 in Poland's capital and focused on relations with Russia. During the summit, the Alliance decided to strengthen its military presence in Eastern Europe on a rotational basis with four battalions in Poland and in the Baltic nations.

"We are not talking only about a few battalions — we are adding…[ultra-fast response] forces, the US brigade and missile shield base in Redzikowo. During different periods of time, even 10 thousand NATO soldiers could be placed in Poland. This is significant military support. For us, this is a geostrategic shift in the balance of forces in the East," the minister told the weekly Do Rzeczy.

The United Kingdom will continue opposing the plans for the EU army as it would make NATO less effective, Defense Secretary Michael Fallon said Tuesday.

One NATO, One Love: UK to Continue Blocking Single EU Army Project
https://sputniknews.com/europe/20161004/1045981274/uk-nato-eu-army.html

At a summit of defense ministers in Bratislava, Fallon said:

"We will go on blocking a[n] EU army that would simply undermine NATO."

Fallon stressed that the Conservative Party would maintain and even increase UK defense budget, keeping it the largest in Europe.

The United Kingdom's decision to exit the European Union has revived the talks on merging the existing defense structures of the EU member states into a single army. The European Union encourages military cooperation between member countries, which already run joint operations.

Despite the EU leaders’ proud declarations about a roadmap to European unity allegedly agreed in Bratislava, the Baltic countries, along with Britain and Poland, are up in arms against the summit’s underlying idea of creating an EU army.

True Reason Why Baltic States 'May Block the Whole Idea' of EU Army
https://sputniknews.com/europe/20160919/1045463641/eu-army-opposition.html

Back-dated September 18, 2016 - This is a bit surprising now that Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are busily buying arms in Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands, and the European Commission’s President Jean-Claude Junker insists that a single European army would be the bedrock of European integration.

Juncker sees a European defense union as an effective means of “deterring Russia” and staving off the migrant crisis and other misfortunes. In a radio interview in March he said that “a joint EU army would show the world that there would never again be a war between EU countries.” It still seems that this argumentation has not been enough to persuade the Baltic countries, Poland and Britain to come aboard. Right after Juncker’s statement to German radio, the British government said that defense was a national responsibility and there was no prospect of a European army.

In an interview with Svobodnaya Pressa online newspaper, Yuri Dolinsky, a Baltic-affairs expert in Moscow, said that with its strong military presence in Europe, the United States would hate to see an EU army coming along especially now that the bloc’s two main sponsors — Germany and France – may be willing to play a bigger role in European defense.

Britain, meanwhile, said that as long as it remains in the Union, it will block the creation of a European army.

“We have always been concerned about unnecessarily duplicating what we already have in NATO,” Defense Secretary Michael Fallon said. When asked if the emergence of a European army would ratchet up tensions along the EU’s border with Russia, which is exactly what the US wants, Yuri Dolinsky argued that this would simultaneously undermine the roles of NATO and the US on the continent.

The US is building a military airfield in northern Syria as part of its ongoing campaign against Daesh, a representative of the Syrian Democratic Forces command told Sputnik on condition of anonymity.

US Military Builds a New Air Base in Northern Syria
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20161004/1045991523/syria-us-airbase.html

The construction site, located between the cities of Sheddadi and al-Hasakah and secured by SDF fighters, sits on a major oil and gas field. The US Air Force will make active use of the new air base during the operation to liberate Raqqa.

“The Americans previously built military airfield in Rimelan in al-Hasakah Governorate and in Kobani in Aleppo Province, and they will now have another one in Sheddadi with its large deposits of oil and gas,”
the SDF representative told Sputnik.

He added that the US military established its permanent presence in the area after SDF units liberated Sheddadi in February 2016 and that the Americans will be able to use the base, which is almost complete now, also as an arms depot.

“The bases in Rimelan and Kobani are already being used by the Americans with planes flying in and out bringing in arms and ammunition. The base will also be used to supply weapons for SDF units as part of the military assistance provided the US and other members of the international coalition,” the representative emphasized.

Dialogue between Damascus and armed opposition groups is possible if it leads to the end of bloodshed in the war-torn country, Syrian President Bashar Assad said.

Dialogue With Armed Opposition Possible if Bloodshed in Syria Stops - Assad
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20161004/1045991073/talks-assad-syria-opposition.html

Assad stressed that the Syrian authorities had already started such a dialogue by declaring amnesty for those who stopped fighting for the sake of peace and the end of bloodshed in the country.

"Speaking of the possibility of a epilogue with armed [opposition] groups, which would surrender their arms, I should say — yes," Syria's SANA news agency on Tuesday quoted Assad as saying in an interview with an Iranian political magazine.

 

[angelburst29]

A battery of S-300 air defense systems has been delivered to Syria to protect a naval base in the port of Tartus as well as Russian warships deployed off the Syrian coast, the Russian Defense Ministry said Tuesday.

Russia Deploys S-300 Missile Battery in Syria to Protect Naval Assets
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20161004/1045995360/syria-protection-assets-russia.html

According to media reports, the variant deployed in Syria is S-300V4 (NATO designation SA-23 Gladiator), which is capable of striking tactical and strategic aircraft, medium-range ballistic missiles, tactical missiles, as well as cruise missiles.

"S-300 is solely a defensive system and does not pose any threat to anybody," spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said in a statement. The system reportedly has a range of 250 kilometers (roughly 150 miles) and can simultaneously engage up to 24 aircraft or 16 ballistic targets in various combinations.

Kremlin announced on Tuesday that Russia's President Vladimir Putin will meet his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Turkey on Oct. 10.

Putin, Erdogan to Meet Once Again on Oct. 10
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950713001442

The announcement was made as Russia and Turkey are mending ties shattered by Ankara's shooting down a Russian warplane last year, Interfax reported.

"The visit will be on October 10," Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov said, adding that there will also be a speech at the World Energy Congress and a bilateral meeting.

Earlier on Monday, Turkey’s ambassador to Russia Umit Yardym said that the two leaders may meet again, however he said the meeting could be held in the Russian city of St. Petersburg.

Also, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov speculated on Monday that the two leaders’ meeting could take place in early October in Turkey. According to him, the Kremlin does not rule out Russia’s president’s visit to Turkey.

The office of Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced that he will meet with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in Turkey in less than a week.

Russian, Turkish presidents to meet in Turkey on October 10: Kremlin
http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2016/10/04/487625/Putin-Erdogan-meeting-Turkey

The Kremlin said on Tuesday that Putin will begin his visit to Turkey on October 10 to attend an energy conference in Istanbul and to meet with Erdogan.

“There will be a speech at the World Energy Congress and a bilateral meeting,” Kremlin aide, Yury Ushakov, said about Putin’s schedule without elaborating on what the two leaders will discuss in the high-level encounter.

Russia and Turkey have been attempting to mend ties which suffered a blow last November after Turkey shot down a Russian fighter jet near the Syrian border. Russia downgraded its ties with Turkey over the incident and Putin imposed an array of economic and military sanctions on Ankara. The Russian leader then accepted an offer of apology by Erdogan in late July and ordered a gradual normalization of ties.

]Heavy infighting between the Turkey-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) and ISIL terrorist groups in Northern Syria claimed the lives of scores of militants from both sides.

Heavy Infighting Rages among Terrorists in Northern Syria
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950713000986

A sum of 15 members of FSA militants were killed and 35 more were injured in clashes with the ISIL Takfiri terrorists, who for their part, suffered a heavy death toll in the clashes.

Last week, a senior commander of the FSA was killed in heavy fighting with the rival terrorist group of ISIL in Northern Aleppo.

Commander of FSA-affiliated Liwa (Brigade) Ahsam Mostafa al-Satouf was killed in infighting with ISIL.

Syrian fighter jets targeted ISIL's supply and military convoys on roads near the energy-rich regions in Eastern Homs, slowing down terrorists' movements in the region.

Syrian Warplanes Launch Heavy Airstrike on ISIL's Supply Lines in Eastern Homs
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950713000834

Syrian army aircraft pounded ISIL's lines of supply across the hills near the village of al-Sawaneh, two oilfields of al-Sha'er and al-Maher, and the villages of Rahoum and Mosheirefy al-Janoubi, inflicting major damage on the terrorists' vehicles.

Terrorists' positions in al-Rastan, Talbiseh, Abu Anz farms, Joureh Hasyan, al-Za'afaraniyeh, Ezzedeen, Deir Foul, Um Sharshouh, Jabourin, Tal Zahab in Northern Homs were bombed by the Syrian fighter jets as well.

The Syrian army units, backed by popular forces, discovered and smashed an arms cache of the terrorists in a region Northwest of Aleppo Kuweires airbase just to the East of the city.

Syrian Army Blows Up Terrorists' Arms Cache Near Aleppo's Kuweires Airbase
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950713000723

"The army managed to blast the terrorists' cache of a large volume of weapons and equipment in Karam al-Tarab Northwest of the airbase," a military source said on Tuesday.

The source added that in addition to blowing up the arms depot, the Syrian forces managed to advance in Sheikh Saeed region in the Southern part of Aleppo city.

Britain on Tuesday announced plans to allow its soldiers to opt out of European human rights law, in a move the British Prime Minister Theresa May said would end "legal claims" against troops.

UK to Exempt Military Forces from Human Rights Law
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950713001296

Under the new proposal the British government said it would allow soldiers to sidestep the European Convention on Human Rights during times of conflict, protecting them from prosecution, depending on an assessment of the circumstances, Alaraby reported.

My government will ensure that our troops are recognized for the incredible job they do. Those who serve on the frontline will have our support when they come home."

"We will repay them with gratitude and put an end to the industry of vexatious claims that has pursued those who served in previous conflicts," May said in a statement.

The plan, announced during the ruling Conservative Party's annual conference, is intended to prevent legal claims against members of the armed forces which Defense Minister Michael Fallon said amounted to "false charges".

"Our legal system has been abused to level false charges against our troops on an industrial scale.

"It has caused significant distress to people who risked their lives to protect us, it has cost the taxpayer millions and there is a real risk it will stop our armed forces doing their job," he said.

In their announcement the government said despite the opt-out from European legislation, soldiers would continue to abide by the Geneva Conventions.

As of March 31, 2016, the team was investigating 1,374 cases, with allegations related to ill treatment, missing persons and deaths.

The ministry of defence said in January that the IHAT had dropped 57 investigations, while the military's prosecuting authority stopped one additional case.

A total of 326 cases have been settled, with compensation payments totaling 20 million pounds ($26 million, 23 million euros).

More broadly, Britain has spent more than 100 million pounds on Iraq-related investigations, inquiries and compensation, the government said on Tuesday.

 

[sToRmR1dR]

Russia, US not giving up on Syrian peace settlement after cooperation suspended

https://www.rt.com/news/361588-russia-us-syria-settlement/

Russia will continue looking for a settlement to the Syrian crisis, despite Washington’s decision to suspend cooperation, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has stressed. His US counterpart, John Kerry, also said on Tuesday that peace efforts must continue.

“We are not giving up and will spare no effort to have the UN Security Council resolutions [on Syria] implemented,” Lavrov was cited as saying by Tass. “We believe the International Syria Support Group can and must play a major, leading role in it,” he added.

On Monday, Washington announced that it was curbing cooperation with Moscow aimed at sustaining the ceasefire in Syria.

The US claims that it made the move because Russia had failed to deliver on promises to assure that Damascus suspended its military campaign and provide humanitarian access to besieged areas of Syria, in accordance with a deal reached on September 9.

“Regrettably, from the very beginning, there have been many, including those in the US administration, seeking to ruin those agreements,” he said. “And it’s even more regrettable that yesterday it was achieved by those who oppose political settlement of the Syrian crisis, oppose the implementation of the relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council, and who openly seek to employ a force scenario.”

According to Lavrov, cooperation between Moscow and Washington was shattered by those in Washington seeking to settle the Syrian crisis by force.

The Russian FM explained that, because of those “internal contradictions,” the American side had been “unable to implement its liabilities under our agreements not only regarding the separation of the so-called ‘moderate opposition’ from Jabhat al-Nusra, but also in what concerns the extremely clear, concrete liabilities of unblocking the Castello Road as a major route to solve Aleppo’s humanitarian problems.”

US Secretary of State John Kerry said that that Washington will be looking for peace in Syria without Russia.

“I want to be clear that we are not giving up on the Syrian people and we are not abandoning the pursuit of peace,” Kerry was cited as saying by Reuters.

“We will continue to pursue a meaningful, sustainable, enforceable cessation of hostilities throughout the country. And that includes the grounding of Syrian and Russian combat aircraft in designated areas,” he added.

The Secretary of State criticized Russia over what he called an “irresponsible and profoundly ill-advised decision” to back Syrian President, Bashar Assad.

Russia first deployed an air force contingent in Syria in 2015 after receiving a request for military help from the Syrian government, which is currently battling Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) and other terror groups.

A source a German foreign ministry told German paper Tagesspiegel that senior officials from the US, UK, France, Italy and Germany are to hold a meeting in Berlin on Wednesday to discuss the situation in Syria.

Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called on Russia and the US to swiftly return to the negotiation table.

“I strongly urge to resume their negotiations so that there will be a cessation of hostilities so that we can deliver life-saving humanitarian assistance. And that will also provide some momentum for confidence-building to initiate political dialogue,” Ban said at the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

Contacts between Russian, US military on Syria to continue — Kremlin

http://tass.com/politics/904117?_ga=1.10134709.1081960895.1475302692

According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, Russia will continue assisting the Syrian Armed Forces despite US moves

Contacts between Russian and US military will continue to avoid serious incidents in Syria, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Tuesday.

"As far as we understand, mutual contacts of our military as to avoiding any dangerous actions continue and will continue, this is necessary to avoid serious incidents," Peskov said in comments on cooperation on Syria between Moscow and Washington.

Moscow regrets Washington’s withdrawal from the dialogue on the ceasefire in Syria but is not inclined to overdramatize the situation concerning the prospects of bilateral relations.

"So far, I would not exaggerate things so much. However, it is clear that we perceive the US withdrawal from the dialogue on the cessation of offensive operations in Syria with regret, " Peskov said. "We would like to hope for presence of common sense and the continuation of contacts in particularly sensitive areas necessary for maintaining peace and security."

In reply to the question whether the risk of military clashes in Syria increases after the US refused to coordinate moves, Peskov said "I wouldn’t like to speak about this risk".

On Monday, the chief of the US Department of State press service, John Kirby, said the US was suspending the use of bilateral channels with Russia that had been established to help serve the ceasefire in Syria.

Russia to keep assisting Syrian army

According to the spokesman, Russia will continue assisting the Syrian Armed Forces despite US moves.

"The US breaking off a dialog with us on Syria as to sustaining the ceasefire, substantially complicates the situation there. This withdrawal unfortunately confirms impossibility to de-facto draw a distinction between terrorists and the so-called moderate opposition," the spokesman said.

"This has of course substantially aggravated the situation," he said.

"But this does not mean that the Russian side intends to abandon its plans on fight against terrorism and assistance to the Syrian armed forces in their anti-terrorist activity," he added.

 

[sToRmR1dR]

NATO illegaly deploys AWACS in Syria

http://www.voltairenet.org/article193541.html

Translated by Pete Kimberley

At the end of a meeting of the Ministers for Defence of the European Union, the General Secretary of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, who had been «invited», gave a Press briefing [1].

He declared that he had been shocked by the battle of Aleppo, which he equated with the attack on a humanitarian convoy. He went on to qualify both events as «violations of international law».

However, the attack on the humanitarian convoy was perpetrated on the ground by the «Local Council of Aleppo» against the Syrian Red Crescent, while the battle of Aleppo is being fought by Syria and Russia in application of UNO resolutions calling for the struggle against terrorism. During the Aïd cease-fire, the «Local Council of Aleppo» considered themselves to be linked with organisations listed as terrorist by the UNO, and refused to stipulate the distinction.

Responding to a question from Reuters, Mr. Stoltenberg indicated that NATO would deploy AWACS to improve the Coalition’s view of the sky.

However, Syrian air-space is legally used only by Syria and Russia, and illegally by the Coalition and Israël. The rebel or terrorist armies have no air force. It seems that NATO intends to test the methods of aerial surveillance which still function despite the deployment of the Russian system for disconnecting the Alliance’s command and control.

 

[goyacobol]

Russian embassy in Damascus shelled from terrorist-controlled area of Syria

https://youtu.be/Q26upw2XoqI

The Russian embassy in Damascus came under fire on Tuesday from a neighborhood controlled by militant groups, including Al-Nusra Front, the Russian Foreign Ministry reports.One of the mortar shells fired at the embassy complex hit the residential area, while two others landed near the embassy building, the ministry said in a statement. Nobody was injured by the explosions.

“According to reports, the shelling came from the Jobar neighborhood of Damascus, which is under control of the terrorist groups Jabhat Fateh al-Sham and Failak ar-Rahman,” the ministry said.

Jabhat Fateh al-Sham is the new name taken by Al-Nusra Front, the Al-Qaeda offshoot universally considered a terrorist organization. Failak ar-Rahman is a lesser-known Islamist group.

Moscow said the shelling is “result of the actions of those who, like the US and some of its allies, provoke the continued bloodshed in Syria and flirt with militants and extremists of all flavors.”

The ministry said Russia would take “all necessary measures” to return peace and security to Syria.

 

[angelburst29]

A battalion of US soldiers will soon be located In the east of Poland
http://katehon.com/news/battalion-us-soldiers-will-soon-be-located-east-poland

"The American battalion, the task of which is "to protect Suvalkai Isthmus", will be located in Orzysz in the east of Poland" - said the head of the military headquarters in Olsztyn Colonel Andrzej Scholek.

He noted that US soldiers can be deployed in areas Bemowo-Písek 13 km from Orzysz.

It is reported that the Polish Defense Minister Antoni Macierewicz stated to the head of NATO Jens Stoltenberg about the need to "focus on ensuring the safety of so-called Suvalkai isthmus. "

According to the Minister of Defence, Suwalki isthmus, bordering on Lithuania and the Kaliningrad region - a key point in terms of the potential threat, as well as in terms of the possibility of providing assistance to the Baltic countries.

US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter announced last Thursday a further dramatic expansion of the Pentagon’s “rebalance” or “pivot” to the Asia Pacific that will only heighten the already tense military confrontation with China in the region. He insisted that the Asia Pacific was “the single most consequential region for America’s future.”

Pentagon Announces “Third Phase” of Military Build-Up Against China. U.S. Economic Hegemony under TPP Supported by Military Might
http://www.globalresearch.ca/pentagon-announces-third-phase-of-military-build-up-against-china-u-s-economic-hegemony-under-tpp-supported-by-military-might/5549324

Speaking on board the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson in San Diego, Carter outlined what he called the “third phase” of the US military build-up and the strengthening of a “principled and inclusive security network” in Asia. While claiming that Beijing was not excluded from the “network,” every aspect of the “third phase” is aimed at preparing for a war with China.

The importance that Carter attached to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) to “bind the United States more closely together with 11 other countries” underlines the real purpose of the “pivot:” to maintain American dominance and subordinate China to the interests of the United States. The very terms of the TPP ensure that Beijing will be excluded unless it accepts the rules set by Washington.

The defence secretary made clear US economic hegemony had to be underpinned by military might. In outlining the “third phase,” he declared that “the United States will continue to sharpen our military edge so we remain the most powerful military in the region and the security partner of choice.”

Carter indicated that the “first phase” of the “pivot” announced in 2011 involved a quantitative boost of the US military and the restructuring of its basing arrangements. Tens of thousands of American military personnel were redirected to Asia, with a commitment to station 60 percent of overseas naval and air assets in the region. The restructuring of US bases in Japan, South Korea, Guam and Hawaii was begun and new basing arrangements reached with Australia.

The “second phase” involved sending the “most advanced capabilities” to the Asia Pacific, including F-22 and F-35 stealth fighter jets, P-8 maritime patrol aircraft and the navy’s newest surface warfare vessels, as well as continuous deployments of strategic bombers. It also included a concerted effort to expand military ties throughout the region in an effort to encircle China with allies and strategic partners. Carter highlighted strengthened security relations with Japan, South Korea, Australia, the Philippines, India, Singapore, Vietnam and New Zealand in particular.

In order to maintain the “military edge,” Carter outlined extensive plans to “qualitatively upgrade and invest in our regional force posture.” He provided a list of hi-tech projects that will be funded, starting this year, including:
<snip>

Every one of these new weapons and upgrades is geared to fighting a war with China, premised on the Pentagon’s AirSea Battle strategy—a massive missile and air assault on the Chinese mainland supplemented by a crippling naval blockade.

Moreover, as Carter indicated, there were also “more surprises”—some “leap-ahead” investments—that will “keep our decades-old commitment to undergirding security in the Asia-Pacific, strong and unchallengeable.”

The “third phase” features the intensification of the “Asia-Pacific’s growing principled and inclusive security network,” It is worth noting that the 10 ASEAN members are: the Thai military junta, Stalinist police-state regimes in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, virtual one-party states in Malaysia and Singapore, the absolute monarchy of Brunei, the Philippines currently headed by the fascistic President Rodrigo Duterte, along with Indonesia and Myanmar, whose militaries continue to play a significant political role.

Carter nevertheless declared that the second informal dialogue with ASEAN defence ministers would “reflect on our shared interests and principles and identify new ways to partner together to realise them.” The real purpose of the gathering is to draw the ASEAN countries into an anti-China alliance and ramp up pressure on China over the South China Sea.

The meeting, which focussed on “maritime security,” came in the wake of the July 12 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague in favour of a US-backed challenge by the Philippines to Chinese territorial claims in the South China Sea.

Washington is increasingly concerned that Philippine President Duterte is backing away from a confrontation with China over the issue and announced a loosening of military ties with the United States. In this context, Carter’s declaration that “our alliance with the Philippines is iron clad” is a thinly-veiled threat to Duterte not to move into Beijing’s camp.

Carter sought to impress the assembled defence ministers with a display of American military might with flyovers by F-22 Raptor fighters and a B-1B strategic bomber. Friday’s events concluded with a dinner on board the battleship USS Missouri, followed on Saturday by a tour of the destroyer USS Chung-Hoon.

The defence secretary outlined new maritime security initiatives, including an ASEAN maritime dialogue and a maritime domain awareness exercise. The Pentagon is already providing $425 million over five years in a Maritime Security Initiative to provide hardware and boost collaboration with some ASEAN members—the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.

There is nothing innocent or peaceful about the Pentagon’s determination to rapidly roll out the “third phase” of its rebalance to Asia. In the name of maintaining regional security, US imperialism is rapidly and recklessly preparing for a showdown with China, with potentially catastrophic consequences.

The Israeli navy has been preparing to attack the Women’s Boats heading to break the ten-year-old siege on the Gaza Strip, Quds Press reported yesterday. The boats, which are part of the Freedom Flotilla Alliance, are expected to arrive in Gaza within three days if they are not impeded in any way.

Israeli Navy Prepares to Attack Women’s Boats Heading to Break Gaza’s Siege
http://www.globalresearch.ca/israeli-navy-prepares-to-attack-womens-boats-heading-to-break-gazas-siege/5549331

According to a report on Israel’s Channel 2 TV, naval gunships have been waiting in the port of Ashdod ready to move and intercept the Zaytouna and Amal, the two boats making the bid. The TV report claimed that the activists on board the boats have been trained in order to know what to do if they are confronted by the Israeli navy.

Meanwhile, Channel 7 TV said that a group of right-wing Jewish settlers are planning their own flotilla off the coast of Gaza to intercept the Zaytouna and Amal, and oblige them to go to Syria. Refugees there, they argue, are in more need of their support than the Palestinians in Gaza.

Thirty international activists are on the humanitarian mission to Gaza, including the Nobel Peace Laureate Mairead Maguire from Northern Ireland, Swedish European Parliament Member Malin Bjork, Marama Davidson, a Green Party MP from New Zealand, and American screenwriter and playwright Naomi Wallace. Turkish athlete Cigdem Topcuoglu, who sailed on the Mavi Marmara in 2010 and whose husband was among the ten activists killed by Israeli commandos, is also on board the Women’s Boats to Gaza.

According to the UN, Gaza will be uninhabitable by 2020, said Canadian social worker, Wendy Goldsmith, adding that the WBG “declares that the illegal blockade of Gaza must end, so that every person can live with freedom and dignity.”

On May 31, 2010, Israeli commandos stormed the Mavi Marmara, the flagship of a flotilla crewed by an alliance of pro-Palestinian activists who had combined to deliver 10,000 tonnes of aid to Gaza.

The Israeli raid killed nine Turkish citizens and injured about 50 other people. A tenth Turkish national later succumbed to his injuries.

The Gaza Strip has been under an Israeli siege since June 2007. The blockade has caused a decline in the standards of living as well as unprecedented levels of unemployment and unrelenting poverty.

The Tel Aviv regime has waged three wars on the coastal enclave since 2008, including the 2014 offensive, which left more than 2,200 Palestinians dead and over 11,100 others wounded.

 

[sToRmR1dR]

The situation on the Middle East is getting worse and worse every moment


The Russian embassy in Damascus was shelled from the areas controlled by al-Nusra Front and Faylaq al-Rahman militants, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

_https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20161004/1045979555/nusra-shells-russian-embassy.html?utm_source=https%3A%2F%2Ft.co%2F9DLWXUt79G&utm_medium=short_url&utm_content=cufE&utm_campaign=URL_shortening

US Blocks Russia’s Statement at UNSC on Embassy Shelling in Syria

https://sputniknews.com/politics/20161005/1046006322/usa-blocks-un-russia-syria-statement.html

The United States blocked at the United Nations Security Council Russia’s statement on the shelling of its embassy in Damascus.

The United States blocked at the United Nations Security Council Russia’s statement on the shelling of its embassy in Damascus, Syria that took place on Monday, the representative of Russia’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations told RIA Novosti.

“[The statement] was actually blocked by the US delegation, which tried to add extraneous elements in a standard in such cases text,” the permanent mission statement said.

“The British and Ukrainians clumsily played up to the Americans. It demonstrates their blatant disrespect for the Vienna Convention of Diplomatic Relations,” the statement added.

On October 4, the Russian Foreign Ministry reported the shelling of the Russian embassy in Damascus on Monday. One of the mines exploded near a residential complex on the territory of the embassy but none of its staff was hurt.

According to the ministry statement, the embassy was shelled from the Jobar municipality controlled by Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (formerly known as al-Nusra Front) and Faylaq al-Rahman militant groups.

On October 3, US State Department announced in a press release that Washington was cutting off participation in bilateral channels with Russia on sustaining a ceasefire agreement in Syria, which was reached by the two countries in September.

Situation around Russian diplomats in US gets increasingly worse — ministry

http://tass.com/politics/904206?_ga=1.240226179.1081960895.1475302692

The Foreign Ministry says Russian diplomats are subject to threats from American security services

Russian diplomats and members of their families are subject to threats from American security services, the Russian Foreign Ministry quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov as saying in response to US Department of State’s allegations about harassment against US diplomats working in Russia.

Against the background of "repeatedly replicated unsubstantiated complaints from the Department of State, the situation around Russian diplomats in the US is indeed getting more and more complicated," Ryabkov said.

"In the past two-and-a-half years, attempts to recruit our personnel have become visibly more frequent, and American security services descend to most unpleasant methods of pressure, up to threats to the heath of family members," he said.

"The normal functioning of our diplomatic missions is prevented through artificial difficulties to official contacts, other far-fetched restrictions," he added.

The top diplomat drew attention to the "Washington’s recent move to tighten the regime of travels of Russian officials inside the US". "Now the overwhelming majority of our representatives need to inform the Department of State beforehand of their itinerary, without which it is impossible to go anywhere," he explained. "This is at variance with the jointly coordinated rules that have been in place for almost quarter of a century".

"This will result in a further worsening of conditions for the development of ties, will undermine possibilities for bilateral cooperation," Ryabkov said. "Unfortunately, this is what the administration of Barack Obama is purposefully doing to the accompaniment of unbridled anti-Russian propaganda, especially since the odious "Magnitsky Act" on sanctions was passed in 2012," he said. However, the Washington officials will fail to shift the blame," he added.

US’s allegations of harassment of its diplomats in Russia

The diplomat dismissed the US State Department’s allegations about harassment of American diplomats in Russia.

"The US Department of State has again put on a scratched record about alleged ‘harassment’ of American diplomats in our country probably in revenge for Russia’s principled position in favor the soonest reestablishment of peace in Syria which is being torn by externally sponsored terrorist groups," the diplomat said. "As we have said many times before, such allegations have nothing to do with the real state of things and as a matter of fact are just an attempt to divert attention from Washington’s own shady ventures, including in respect of Russian citizens. We mean for instance the ongoing practice of abduction of Russian nationals by American security services across the globe and flagrant cases of whitewashing murderers of adopted children from Russia."

"Outbursts of publicly displayed care about their representatives are obviously meant by the US administration to disguise the active spying activities conducted under diplomatic cover for instance, by officers the US defense attache office, who keep on travelling Russian regions where they are annoyingly prying around our army facilities."

The Russian diplomat expressed indignation over the "exhumed allegations" of an attempted poisoning of two members of an American delegation over their stay at an international conference in St. Petersburg about two years ago. "Back then, having immediately reacted to the corresponding information from the US embassy, we asked them to specify their claims but received nothing, not even the names of the ‘victims,’" he said. "The Russian side’s check exposed that neither of the Americans had sought help with Petersburg’s medical establishments. And if they had had a glass too much at the hotel bar, it’s their own problem."

US Army Seeks New Weapons Systems in Anticipation of New Warfare

https://sputniknews.com/us/20161005/1046006191/US-army-new-missiles.html

The anticipation of new, multi-domain battlefields is driving the US Army toward new weapons systems, including Long-Range Precision Fires (LRPF).

Raytheon, which in August won a $5.7 million risk-mitigation contract to conduct the baseline design, described the system as “thin and sleek, it will fire two missiles from a single weapons pod, slashing the cost. The new missile also flies farther, packs more punch and has a better guidance system than the current weapon.” Lockheed Martin, which produces the long-range, tactical, surface-to-surface missiles used by the Army today, also won a contract to develop an LRPF offering.

Scout.com reported on the LRPFs in September, saying that the missiles, scheduled to be operational by 2027, will be able to destroy targets from 500 kilometers away using “missile-delivered indirect precision fires,” according to Dan O’Boyle, spokesman for the US Army Program Executive Office, Missiles and Space.

Updating weapons and shifting focus are part of the Army’s branding of its efforts to prepare for conflicts other than the counterinsurgency wars it has been fighting for some 15 years.

Unlike less-complex battlefields of the past, the US Army is preparing to fight in rapidly changing and complex settings, according to General David Perkins, senior commander of Training and Doctrine Command, Defense News reported.

“The world I grew up in, during the Cold War: you would have ground forces fighting ground forces, air forces fighting air forces. Cyber didn’t even exist when I was a lieutenant,” he said. “What’s happening now is those lines are blurring between those domains.”

Along with overlapping battlespace domains, the Army is also anticipating that all domains will be contested in the battles of the future, the director of the Army Capabilities Integration Center told reporters in a teleconference ahead of the Association of the US Army’s annual conference, which began on October 3.

“If all domains are contested, what that means is the army can no longer rely on other service capabilities to do things that we assumed that they would be able to do,” Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster said, according to Defense News. After the Cold War ended, he explained, the Army began to rely more on other services to supply capabilities in electronic warfare and long range fires, reducing the Army’s own capacity in such areas.

Now, the Army intends to build that capacity back, and long-range surface-to-surface, surface-to-air or shore-to-ship missiles will play a role.

In a sense, the shift represents a return to form for the army, according to McMaster.

“What we are endeavoring to do is to build capabilities into the army to allow the army [to do] what it used to do, and always has been able to do, which is defeat enemy forces on land, secure terrain to deny its use to the enemy, protect populations, consolidate military gains, but, increasingly, to project power outward from land into… aerospace, maritime or cyber space and across the electromagnetic spectrum,” McMaster said, according to Defense News.

Scout.com reported more explicitly that the Army is shifting focus – and weapons development – toward war with a major power. Lieutenant General Michael Williamson, military deputy to the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology, told Scout.com in August, “We’re developing systems to be prepared for the full range of potential conflict.” Some of these systems, he said, are explicitly geared toward great-power conflict, which would be expected to include combat with mechanized forces, armored vehicles, long-range precision weapons and helicopter air support, among other technologies and tactics.

 

[goyacobol]

More of the same rehetoric. Ironic that the Syria and Russia are close to winning and the West wants to seize "defeat from the jaws of victory". They see it as the "fall of Aleppo" and Syria and Russia see it as the rescue of Aleppo. Pathologic minds are indeed difficult to comprehend.


Covert strikes on Assad back on US table to prevent ‘fall of Aleppo’ – report

Top Washington officials are set to discuss striking positions of the Syrian military without a UN Security Council resolution. Bombing air force runways with missiles fired from coalition planes and ships is being considered, according to a report.
“One proposed way to get around the White House’s objection to striking the Assad regime without a UN Security Council resolution would be to carry out the strikes covertly and without public acknowledgment,” one administration official who is to take part in the discussions told the Washington Post.

A meeting of the Obama administration’s Principals Committee is scheduled for Wednesday, the newspaper reported, adding that a meeting of the National Security Council could follow this weekend.
The CIA and the Joint Chiefs of Staff expressed support for “limited military strikes against the Syrian government,” last Wednesday, when the US discussed such “kinetic” options, the official told the Washington Post.

“There’s an increased mood in support of kinetic actions against the regime,” one senior administration official was quoted as saying.

“The CIA and the Joint Staff have said that the fall of Aleppo would undermine America’s counterterrorism goals in Syria,” he added.

After threatening to withdraw from the Syrian peace process for weeks, Washington finally announced the “suspension” of bilateral contact with Moscow concerning the crisis on Monday.
Although contact to “deconflict” encounters between the aircraft of the US and Russian militaries in Syrian skies will continue, the US is withdrawing personnel dispatched for the purpose of setting up a Joint Implementation Center (JIC) for the ceasefire. The JIC, which would have been located in Geneva, was to coordinate military cooperation and intelligence-sharing between Russia and the US-led coalition fighting Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) in Iraq and Syria.
There is “nothing more for the US and Russia to talk about” in Syria, White House spokesman Josh Earnest concluded on Monday.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry said it was “disappointed” by the decision, while accusing the US of trying to shift the blame for its own failure in Syria. Russia has made efforts to preserve the September 9 ceasefire agreement, repeatedly urging Washington to live up to its obligations, the Foreign Ministry in Moscow said on Monday.
“It turns out that Washington has failed to fulfill the key condition of the agreement to ease humanitarian situation for the residents of Aleppo” said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova. “And now, apparently, having failed to honor these agreements that they themselves worked out, [the US] is trying to shift the blame.”

On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin suspended Moscow’s participation in a program that disposes of plutonium from decommissioned nuclear warheads, citing “a radical change in the environment, a threat to strategic stability posed by the hostile actions of the US against Russia, and the inability of the US to deliver on the obligation to dispose of excessive weapons plutonium under international treaties.”
Washington deemed that decision “disappointing.”

Asked if the US had fulfilled its own long-standing obligation to separate the so-called moderate opposition from terrorists, State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau replied, “We believe we did.”

When RT’s Gayane Chichakyan reminded Trudeau that several major rebel groups had refused to abide by the ceasefire outright, the spokeswoman hit back: “We expected good faith efforts, not only from rebel groups on the ground… but also Russia.

“If attacked, opposition groups have the right to defend themselves,” she added.
Washington deemed that decision “disappointing.”

Asked if the US had fulfilled its own long-standing obligation to separate the so-called moderate opposition from terrorists, State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau replied, “We believe we did.”

When RT’s Gayane Chichakyan reminded Trudeau that several major rebel groups had refused to abide by the ceasefire outright, the spokeswoman hit back: “We expected good faith efforts, not only from rebel groups on the ground… but also Russia.

“If attacked, opposition groups have the right to defend themselves,” she added.

 

[angelburst29]

The September 19 attack on a UN humanitarian convoy in Aleppo was "a well-prepared hoax", according to a group of independent military experts attached to the International Syria Support Group (ISSG).

September Attack on UN Aid Convoy in Syria Well-Prepared Hoax, Investigators Say
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20161005/1046020958/un-convoy-attack-hoax.html

On September 19, a UN-Syrian Arab Red Crescent convoy carrying humanitarian aid for the Aleppo province was hit by a strike, according to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). As a result, 18 of 31 trucks were destroyed and at least 21 individuals were killed.

According to the report seen by RIA Novosti, the experts studied the video recording made by the Russian drones accompanying the convoy, where "a car with a trailer clearly carrying a large-caliber mortar" can be seen. They also noted that al-Nusra Front-controlled militants were active in the region, when the convoy was attacked.

Видеозапись с БПЛА передвижения гум.конвоя на подконтрольной боевикам территории в провинции Алеппо
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUMJ2vm4vgU (0:36 min.)

Urm al-Kubra is located in the region controlled by al-Nusra [Front] militants, moreover, this territory is noted as a region with high concentration of militants. If you consider reports of September 19, you will see that al-Nusra militants carried out a large-scale offensive supported by mass artillery fire, tanks and volley fire rocket systems in that very region at that time," the report read.

The experts analyzed the footage and photos of the attack in the media and came to a conclusion that "the attack" was staged: in particular, the cabin of one of the trucks was not affected and "has no trace of a close explosion — traces of debris or holes, only the cargo damaged." Furthermore, the edges of the holes in damaged trucks are covered with rust. The road surface was also in perfect condition, while according to the experts it would have been damaged if it were hit by an airstrike.

The degree of damage contradicts the airstrike version: the blast in a confined space would at least have overturned the trucks with cargo while explosions would have left shards in the walls of nearby buildings. But judging by the photos, the trucks only lost its canvas, their tires remained intact, the cardboard boxes remained in their places, and the nearby buildings have no cracks.

The experts were also puzzled over the crater allegedly left by the purported airstrike. "The central part of the crater pulls objects in instead of scattering them around. Is it a black hole?"

"In summary of this preliminary analysis, we can conclude that we are dealing with a well-prepared staged or ‘fake’ attack," the report reads. A diplomatic source told RIA Novosti that this report was sent to representatives with the United States who "expressed their disagreement with the conclusions."

Western countries have accused Russia and Syria of the attack. Moscow has refuted the allegations and proposed to carry out an investigation of the incident, but the Russian proposal has not been met with interest by the West. The Russian Defense Ministry, commenting on the attack, said that a US Predator drone operated near Urum al-Kubra area north of Aleppo at the time of the deadly attack and had left the area only a half an hour after it.

The Syrian army will reduce airstrikes and shelling in eastern Aleppo to allow the civilians to leave the besieged territory, the general command said in a statement Wednesday.

Syrian Army to Reduce Airstrikes in Aleppo to Allow Civilians to Leave Region
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20161005/1046033798/aleppo-airstrikes-army-civilians.html

Aleppo has seen intense fighting over the past few months, with the Syrian army and local militia forces managing to encircle large groups of militants in the eastern districts of the city.

"The command of the army made a decision to reduce the number of air forces and artillery strikes against the positions of terrorists to help the civilians who wish to leave for safer regions," the statement said, as quoted by the SANA news agency.

Moscow is not going to interfere the internal affairs of Syria and the Russian Aerospace Forces will leave the county after restoration of peace and stability there, Konstantin Kosachev, head of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the upper house of the Russian parliament, said Wednesday.

Russia to Leave Syria After Restoration of Peace in Country - Lawmaker
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20161005/1046025938/russia-syria-peace.html

A multi-national business delegation participating in the "Inside the Kremlin" program has meet with Kosachev on Wednesday.

"We are definitely not going to interfere Syria's internal affairs. Russia will leave Syria after restoration of the law and stability there," the lawmaker said at the meeting.

According to Kosachev, if the Syrian people have an opportunity to determine the way of forming the authority in the country, "they will manage to do so by themselves."

Kosachev noted that the Russian agreement with the West on cessation of hostilities in Syria had failed, because Europe and the United States, first and foremost, had been pursuing the goal of changing the regime in Damascus instead of defeating terrorism. The business delegation is represented by almost 50 companies from more than 15 countries, including the United States, Germany, India, Switzerland and Saudi Arabia. The three-day business visit is organized by the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO) and Steven Kupka, managing partner of Husch Blackwell business services law firm.

A US-Georgian consortium is building a deep-sea port in Anaklia on Georgia’s Black Sea coast, which Tbilisi hopes will become a major logistical link in lucrative cargo transit from China to Europe, RIA Novosti reported.

Hidden Agenda: US Sinks Billions Into Сonstruction of Major Sea Port in Georgia
https://sputniknews.com/europe/20161005/1046017520/georgia-us-port.html

In an interview with Sputnik, economist Vladimir Khomeriki said that the construction of the Anaklia port had started back in 2009, but was later put on hold.

“This project was launched by then President Mikheil Saakashvili but, realizing the financial and technological problems it entailed, he suspended it. The new government forgot about it and now they decided to give it a new start,” Professor Khomeriki said.

He added that even though the Americans have their eyes set on lucrative cargo transit from Asia to Europe, they could eventually turn the Anaklia port into a US naval base “right under Russia’s nose.”

The ambitious undertaking has already been hailed as “a project of the century” by Prime Minister Georgy Kvitrikashvili. And also by the Americans, whose Conti International was awarded a $2.5 billion contract to build the Anaklia port together with Georgia’s TBC Holding Company.

It would be logical to choose China as a contractor if the project is really a merchant port and not a naval base Washington has always wanted to have on the Black Sea, RIA wrote.

The Montreux Convention regarding the regime of the Straits stipulates that naval ships not belonging to Black Sea states can enter the Black Sea for a period of no more than three weeks.

The US is not a Black Sea country, but it now looks like it is going to become one and is ready to shell out $2.5 billion to make its dream come true. Incidentally, the new port happens to be just a stone’s throw from the Abkhazian border.

Meanwhile, Tbilisi keeps trumpeting the advantages of the would-be port, which will be able to handle 120,000-ton container ships and to process up to 100 million tons of cargo each year.

These plans seem to be a bit overblown though now that the already existing ports in Poti and Batumi largely stay idle due to a steadily falling cargo turnover and could grind to a complete standstill with the commissioning of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway.

This makes the construction of a new seaport, especially a major one like in Anaklia, economically unfeasible. “Who are they going to fool?” RIA wondered. Relations between Russia and Georgia have been complicated in the past decade. Russia has traditionally supported Georgia's breakaway republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, while Georgia has been looking to join NATO. In 2008, Russia and Georgia fought a five-day war over the two breakaway Georgian republics, after which Russia recognized them both as being independent states.

According to the New York Times, the contractor, who worked for the same company as Edward Snowden, was arrested for stealing highly-classified 'source codes' developed by the NSA to hack foreign government systems.

Second Snowden? Feds Arrest NSA Contractor For Stealing Classified Data
https://sputniknews.com/us/20161005/1046033707/fbi-nsa-arrest-contractor.html

According to the Justice Department, Harold Thomas Martin, who was employed by Booz Allen Hamilton — the company responsible for most of the NSA's most sensitive cyberoperations — faces up to 10 years in prison for theft of government property and one year for removing classified material. The materials he is believed to have stolen are "critical to national security", Justice Department officials added.

If confirmed, this incident will mean that for the second time in 3 years, an insider stole top secret information from the National Security Agency.

Edward Snowden also took to Twitter to comment on the story, asking if this will expose flaws in US products.